WEBSTER GROVES - Webster University will look to take home its third-ever St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Tournament Championship on Saturday evening as the third-seeded Gorloks face fourth-seeded Westminster College at H.J. Long Gymnasium on the Greenville University campus in Greenville, Ill.
Saturday's meeting will be the third this season between the two teams as the Gorloks and the Bluejays split their regular season match-ups as Westminster picked up a 77-72 overtime win in Fulton, Mo., on Nov. 29, but Webster returned the favor with a 63-60 win at Grant Gymnasium on Jan. 20. Westminster holds a slight 29-26 edge all-time in the series and Saturday's game will mark the sixth time the two teams will meet in the SLIAC Tournament as Westminster holds a 3-2 lead in tournament games.
Both teams come into Saturday's game seeking their third ever SLIAC Tournament Championship as Webster took home tournament titles in 2005 and 2011, while Westminster won its titles in 2012 and 2013. Combined, the two schools have made a total of eight all-time appearances in the championship game prior to Saturday's match-up and have won a combined four titles and finished runner-up four times.
Saturday's championship game will also mark the first-ever underdog championship game in tournament's 22 year history. It will be the first time a No. 3 seed has faced a No. 4 seeded team in the tournament.
Webster earned its spot in the SLIAC Tournament Championship game thanks to picking up a 56-52 win in Friday's first semifinal game against second-seeded Eureka, who was seeking its second consecutive tournament. The Gorloks are sporting a 19-6 overall record and are seeking just its third 20 win campaign in program history and have won eight of its last nine games with their only loss being a 79-71 setback last Saturday at Greenville in the regular season finale.
Meanwhile, Westminster, who is just the second ever No. 4 seeded team to advance to the SLIAC Tournament Championship game since Principia did so in 1995, comes into Saturday's game riding some momentum as the Bluejays have won four straight games since suffering an 81-75 loss at Eureka on Feb. 10 and earned its spot in this year's championship game following its 73-67 upset win over top-seeded Greenville in Friday's second semifinal game. The Bluejays four game winning streak is currently the longest active streak in the league.
The winner of Saturday's SLIAC Tournament Championship game will earn the SLIAC's automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Women's Tournament. The NCAA will unveil this year's 64 team tournament field on Monday, Feb. 26.
Click here for a recap of Friday's SLIAC Tournament semifinal games on the SLIAC's website.
